In just one year, the value of new Australian home loans has surged to a new record high. Investors are also back in force, outbidding younger first-home buyers at house auctions.
Employment by Melanie Burgess, Daniel Mills 1st Mar 2021 6:25 AM
Premium Content  Capital city workers typically out-earn their regional counterparts but Australia s new-found acceptance of remote work may be closing the gap. Latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal the median full-time salary in Greater Sydney was $1495 a week ($77,700 a year) compared to $1300 a week ($67,600 a year) across the rest of NSW. Demographer and social researcher Mark McCrindle said a trend of Australians moving away from capital cities could have an interesting affect on salaries. ABS figures revealed capital cities had a net loss of 11,200 people in the September 2020 quarter from internal migration - the largest quarterly net loss on record.
Australian house prices have surged by the fastest pace in 18 years.
Capital city and regional property prices climbed by 2.1 per cent in February - the steepest monthly increase since August 2003, CoreLogic data has revealed.
Sydney s median house price soared by an even more impressive 3 per cent last month, marking a dramatic turnaround from 2020 as Covid shutdowns hurt Australia s biggest real estate market.
The mid-point price for a home with a backyard now stands at $1.061million.
Melbourne remarkably also posted above-average growth with median house prices rising by 2.4 per cent to $829,509.
Property price records were set in 53 out of Australia s 88 statistical regions, including Warrnambool in south-west Victoria which recorded a 4 per cent surge as values on Sydney s upmarket Northern Beaches climbed 3.9 per cent.
Brisbane house prices post the sharpest monthly increase since 2007 as values rise across Queensland. It comes as demographers report the highest increase in net interstate migration into Queensland in 20 years.
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The largest one-month jump in house values in 17 years and a surge in new home loans has prompted warnings the property market is at risk of overheating and could force the Reserve Bank to reassess record-low interest rates.
Some economists believe the RBA, which meets on Tuesday, may have to start lifting rates as early as next year to deal with house prices, which rose 3 per cent in Sydney and 2.5 per cent in Melbourne last month.
House values climbed at their fastest rate in 17 years in February and home loans are surging in reaction to ultra-low interest rates and government support programs.